NU cracks US News top 100; Harvard drops to No. 2

Just days after Northeastern University president Richard Freeland left office, the school has achieved his long-held goal: Breaking into the top 100 list of U.S. News and World Report's college rankings.

Northeastern is ranked 98th, tied with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and five other schools in the magazine's annual college guide. A decade ago, when Freeland took over, the school was No. 162, and its climb up the chart has been one of the most dramatic since U.S. News began ranking schools in 1983.

Harvard University fell from No. 1 to No. 2, dislodged from its perch by Princeton University. Yale University, another perennial contender for the top slot, was ranked third. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was tied for fourth place, along with the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

Further down the list, Tufts University was rated No. 27, Brandeis University was No. 31, Boston College was No. 34 and Boston University was No. 57.

Williams College continued to be the top-ranked liberal arts school, followed by Amherst College, Swarthmore College and Wellesley College -- the same order as last year.

Bentley College was the highest-ranked Boston area school in the master's universities category, at No. 6, followed by Simmons College (No. 13), Emerson College (No. 15), Lesley University (No. 38), and four schools tied for 51st place -- Emmanuel College, Regis College, Suffolk University and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Wheelock College was tied with eight other schools for 68th place.